The Right Size.Every Time.Grip Rail.
The world's first telescoping pipe rail. No cutting. No scrap bin. No pipe organ rattling in the truck. Pull it, set it, lock it — vertical or horizontal, 26″ to 72″, and joinable end to end for anything longer.
Kill the
Pipe Organ.
Every truck carries the same dead weight: a rack of cut pipe in lengths that are never quite right. Grip Rail replaces the whole rack with two telescoping aluminum sections and an internal stop that never lets them separate. Rig cameras, lights, backdrops, rag frames — or run it as a candlestick.
- /01360° rotating Junior receiver — 1-1/8″ with three points of contact for safe, secure mounting.
- /02Fits the fittings you already own — interfaces with standard 1-1/4″ and 1-1/2″ pipe fittings, grid and scaff clamps, Matthellinis, and Hollaender Speed-Rail® fittings. Clamp Reducer included for end-to-end clamp mounting.
- /03Internal safety stop — two-section system physically can't pull apart under load.
- /04Go tool-less — grub screws included, or swap in T-Handles and never reach for a tool again.
- /05Combine any two sizes — the Double Sided Jr Pin safely joins rail to rail, or converts the female receiver to male.
64cm – 183cm
One Rail. Every Length.
Scroll to extend. The Short covers 26″–42″ (64–107cm), the Long 41″–72″ (101–183cm). Between the two there is no length on set you have to go cut.
The Grip Rail System
Three pieces. Every rig. The flagship rail in four sizes, the 5/8″ baby rail for tight quarters, and the pin that ties it all together.
Grip Rail
The original. 1-1/4″ or 1-1/2″ OD, Short (26″–42″) or Long (41″–72″). Clamp Reducer included, Junior receiver on board, grub screws in the box.
5/8″ Grip Rail
One rail instead of three rods. Closes to 24″, extends to 42.5″, stainless core that won't sag. Rated 10 lbs horizontal / 20 lbs vertical.
Double Sided Jr Pin
Aluminum, knurled for real T-Handle bite. Safely joins any two Grip Rails end-to-end, or converts any 1-1/8″ Jr receiver from female to male.
Roll It.
Two minutes with the hardware beats two pages of copy.
Built for the Day Rate.
Stage or location — cameras, fixtures, backdrops and silks, rigged in the time it takes to pull and lock.
He Got Tired of
Running to the Truck.
Cut it to length. Throw the offcut away. Do it again tomorrow.
That was the job before Grip Rail — time burned walking back to the truck, and good pipe going in the scrap bin one cut at a time. So a working grip built the fix himself, in his own machine shop.
Owner & Designer, Patriot Camera Cars
Aaron Hammel is the owner, designer, and builder behind Patriot Camera Cars, the Burbank-based company regarded as the motion picture industry's leader in electric-vehicle camera movement. A member of IATSE Local 80 (Motion Picture Studio Grips), Hammel came to filmmaking through motorsports — 15 years as a motorcycle road-racing chassis mechanic and crew chief before bringing that mechanical precision to film production.
For nearly two decades since, he has designed and built electric-powered camera cars for the industry, including the Patriot Classic and Patriot Mini, and is widely considered to be at the top of his field as an operator.
Hammel is the inventor of the original Grip Rail — a telescoping, no-cut pipe rail mounting system he first built in his own machine shop to eliminate the wasted time and material of cutting pipe to size on set. When fellow grips started asking for one, he partnered with Matthews Studio Equipment to perfect the design and bring it to market as the multipurpose Grip Rail, now patent-pending. He also collaborated with Matthews on the Patriot Wrench, a single-tool solution for most cranking, tightening, and wrenching scenarios on set.
Numbers That Rig.
| Model | SKU | Diameter | Range | Weight | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grip Rail 1-1/4″ Short | 429032 | 1-1/4″ · 42mm OD | 26″ – 42″ · 64–107cm | 4 lbs / 1.8 kg | $224 |
| Grip Rail 1-1/4″ Long | 429031 | 1-1/4″ · 42mm OD | 41″ – 72″ · 101–183cm | 6 lbs / 2.7 kg | $235 |
| Grip Rail 1-1/2″ Short | 429034 | 1-1/2″ · 48mm OD | 26″ – 42″ · 64–107cm | 5.5 lbs / 2.5 kg | $224 |
| Grip Rail 1-1/2″ Long | 429033 | 1-1/2″ · 48mm OD | 41″ – 72″ · 101–183cm | 7.5 lbs / 3.4 kg | $235 |
| 5/8″ Grip Rail — Baby Rail | 429040 | 5/8″ baby pin | 24″ – 42.5″ · 61–108cm | 2 lbs / 0.9 kg | $99 |
| Double Sided Jr Pin | 429068 | 1-1/8″ Jr | — | Aluminum | $55 |
Any two Grip Rails can be safely combined end to end with the Double Sided Jr Pin — approximately 84″ (Short + Short), 114″ (Short + Long), or 144″ (Long + Long) of continuous rail.
Grip Rail interfaces with standard 1-1/4″ (42mm) and 1-1/2″ (48mm) pipe fittings, grid and scaff clamps, Matthellinis, and Hollaender Speed-Rail® fittings.
Stop Cutting.
Start Rigging.
The Grip Rail System is in stock and shipping now from Matthews Studio Equipment. Free continental-US shipping on orders over $20.
